A Walk Around: The Streets of Sheung Wan

Sheung Wan is an area i've grown really fond of recently. For a couple of months I was in Sheung Wan every Wednesday morning for work, with a delightful couple of hours to spare before I had to be in the next place. During this time I enjoyed walking around the area admiring the street art, quirky doorways and interesting, colourful buildings. Although Sheung Wan is in walkable distance of the finance district and chaos of central, it has a completely different, much more slow-paced vibe. It seamlessly blends old Hong Kong and new Hong Kong together. It is also home to multiple cute coffee shops, quirky restaurants and hipster bars, it really is a great spot to find yourself at any time of day.

Hong Kong Time Lapse

This video has been circulating on my Facebook newsfeed recently - Hong Kong is beautifully captured by Patrick Cheung in his 'Motorized City' time lapse film.

Motorized City from Patrick Cheung Power Up on Vimeo.

The Chapman Brothers at White Cube

I had to check out this exhibition when I heard about it. My A-Level art teacher went to University with one the controversial brothers and often use to show us their work in class. "The Sum of all Evil" is the fourth installation in their series of "Hell" landscapes - made up of reworked paintings by unknown artists and little models. It is also the first time the brothers have had an exhibition in China.

A relic of modern day consumerism. 

Well worth the trip to the Whitecube gallery, a captivatingly grotesque display which fuses together the evils of war and mass consumerism. Lots of minutely detailed characters to look at in the chaotic display, I particularly liked the Hitler with his party balloons, overlooking the slaughter and chaos.

The Exhibition is at the White Cube Gallery until 31st August.

Address: 50 Connaught Road Central,

               Central

Take a right when exiting Exchange Square, it's about a five minute walk and the gallery is on the other side of the road.

"We're making work that contradicts the idea that art is inherently good and based on idealism"

Jake Chapman.

XXX Gallery

This was my first big night out in Hong Kong, and my favourite one still. As much as I do like going for a nice cocktail in central, for a big night out I will always feel more at home in a place with a more underground vibe. This isn't the easiest thing to come across in Hong Kong, which on the surface is a haven of rich bankers and model types, so I was very happy to be introduced to this place so quickly after moving here.
 

The music is Hip Hop, drum and base, dubstep and reggae. Their nights are usually $100 entry (about £8.40), bring your own drinks. Houseparty vibes.

UV lit staircase (taken from iamclub.co.uk)

Strictly speaking XXX is not a club, but an art gallery. Hosting art installations and photography exhibitions during the week, hence why the walls are kept white with just a couple of trademark X's for decoration.

There are no XXX nights for the time being as the Gallery in Shueng Wan has closed. They are moving to a bigger venue and I can't wait to see what they have in store. Come back soon XXX!

Keep updated - xxx

Jean-Michel Basquiat's first HK exhibition

This is the first exhibition of Jean Michel Basquiat to be held in Hong Kong, hosted by the Gagosian Gallery on Pedder Street.

A little about the artist...
Basquiat started his art career as a street artist in New York, himself and his friend Al Diaz came up with the name SAMO© (pronounced same-oh, taken from the phrase 'same old shit') to tag the both poetic and sarcastic phrases they grafittied all over Manhatten. He left graffiti art and the alter-ego SAMO behind in 1981 after the pair parted ways. Diaz turned to the music industry, and Basquiat covered the streets of downtown New York with SAMO© IS DEAD and began to focus his creativity on painting and drawing. Between the boom of Neo-expressionist art in the 80's and Basquiat's raw talent, he became noticed very quickly in the art world and his works were soon in high demand.

In 1985 Basquiat appeared of the cover of the New York Times Magazine, the juxtaposition of his elegant three piece suit and tie with his dreadlocks and bare feet exemplifies the manner in which he made disjointed styles and disparate elements work together with ease in his paintings.

Only three years later in 1988 Basquiat met his untimely death after overdosing on Heroin in his apartment in New York, the '27 club' had it's newest member of artists who had succumbed to the fate of the 'live fast, die young' lifestyle.

It was a more than worthwhile trip from the NT to central to see the explosive, surreal and thought provoking works of this legendary artist.

A few images below of the pieces that can be seen in the Gallery (taken from the website, no photos allowed to be taken photos in the exhibition hall).

Self Portrait, 1984

The exhibition is held in the Gagosian Gallery from May 21st - August 10th

7/F Pedder Building

12 Pedder Street

Central,

Hong Kong.

Come out of Central station, exit D1, go up the small flight of stairs you will come to just after walking past Abercrombie and Fitch, the elevators are on your left. Go to floor 7.

For more information and pictures of displayed work; http://www.gagosian.com/exhibitions/jean-michel-basquiat--may-21-2013

"I don't think about art while I work, I try to think about life."

Jean-Michell Basquiat.